Bulletproof protector and bulletproof clothes

ABSTRACT

Bulletproof protector is capable of protecting the neck of a person securely from a bullet or the like. Bulletproof protector  1  includes: a cylindrical neck protector  2  made of a bulletproof material and protecting the neck of a person; and a sheet under-the-neck protector  3  made of a bulletproof material, having an attachment hole  3   a  for inserting the neck protector  2,  and protecting a region immediately under the neck of the person. A bulletproof plate  7  covers the neck protector  2  inserted in the attachment hole  3   a  and the under-the-neck protector to thereby cover a connection part K of the neck protector  2  and the under-the-neck protector  3,  thereby preventing a bullet M from penetrating the connection part K.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to bulletproof protector (ballistic resistant body covering) and bulletproof clothes protecting a human body, particularly, the neck of a person, against a bullet, a knife or the like.

BACKGROUND ART

A flak jacket (bulletproof clothes) protecting a human body against a bullet, a knife or the like requires a high capability against a bullet and a knife, as well as a light weight and comfortableness to wear. A person puts on such a flak jacket (e.g., refer to Patent Document 1) by inserting the head through a hole formed in the middle of a cover sheet made of a special bulletproof material and connecting (fixing) the front and back surfaces of the cover sheet using a surface zipper or the like. With sticking the head out of the hole of the cover sheet, the person can protect the torso front with the face of the cover sheet.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No.2000-241097 DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION Problems to be Solved by the Invention

If a bullet comes flying from nowhere and hits a person on the neck, however, then the flak jacket according to Patent Document 1 cannot protect the neck against such a bullet because the neck is exposed with the head poking out of the hole of the cover sheet.

Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide bulletproof protector and bulletproof clothes capable of protecting the neck of a person securely against a bullet or the like.

MEANS FOR SOLVING THE PROBLEMS

In order to protect the neck of a person from a bullet or the like, protector the neck with a bulletproof material is considered to be most simple and effective. As a result of researches and studies, however, the Inventor(s) found out that protector the neck merely with a bulletproof material cannot protect the neck securely. As shown in FIG. 8, if a bullet M strikes an edge (each cylindrical upper and lower end) of a bulletproof material 100 with the neck of a person covered cylindrically with the bulletproof material 100, then the bullet M shifts its course (makes a turn) toward the body of the person without stopping at the bulletproof material 100 because the bullet M goes to a weaker part. Accordingly, if the bullet M hits an edge of the bulletproof material 100, then the person cannot be securely protected, resulting in the conclusion that the bullet M should be hindered from striking each edge of the bulletproof material 100.

The inventor(s) also found out through researches and studies that a configuration shown in FIG. 9 cannot protect the neck (body) of a person securely. This configuration includes a cylindrical neck protector 101 protecting the neck of a person and an under-the-neck protector 102 protecting a region immediately under, both being made of a fibrous bulletproof material and covered with baglike covers 101A and 102A, respectively. Then, the cover 101A of the neck protector 101 is connected to the cover 102A of the under-the-neck protector 102 with the lower edge of the neck protector 101 kept in contact with the interior edge (inside end) of the under-the-neck protector 102. This configuration cannot stop the bullet M in an area up to approximately 2 cm from the lower edge of the neck protector 101 and an area up to approximately 2 cm from the interior edge of the under-the-neck protector 102. In other words, a total area of approximately 6 cm is defenseless: about 3 cm from the lower edge of the neck protector 101 plus about 3 cm from the interior edge of the under-the-neck protector 102. In order to protect the neck (body) of a person securely, the area up to approximately 3 cm from the lower edge of the neck protector 101 needs designing so as not to be hit by the bullet M.

In addition, the inventor(s) found out through researches and studies that as shown in FIG. 10, in a fibrous bent bulletproof material 103 for protecting the neck and a region under the neck of a person, the bullet M highly probably penetrates a bent portion 103A. As described above, it is highly probable that the bullet M will penetrate a connection part between the neck and the region under it in bulletproof protector. Accordingly, it is essential to reinforce and protect this part. Besides, bulletproof protector should have a bulletproofing capability high enough to resist the high speed bullet M and the hard bullet M.

As described so far, in order to accomplish the above objects, bulletproof protector according to claim 1 includes: a cylindrical neck protector made of a bulletproof material and protecting the neck of a person; and a sheet under-the-neck protector made of a bulletproof material, having an attachment hole for inserting the neck protector, and protecting a region immediately under the neck of the person, in which a bulletproof plate is provided which covers the neck protector inserted in the attachment hole and the under-the-neck protector.

Bulletproof protector according to claim 2 is characterized in that, in the bulletproof protector according to claim 1, the bulletproof plate includes a stand-up collar portion extending in the directions around the neck of the person along an exterior surface of the neck protector and a brim portion extending in the directions around the region immediately under the neck of the person along an exterior surface of the under-the-neck protector, and the stand-up collar portion is unifying formed with the brim portion.

Bulletproof protector according to claim 3 is characterized in that, in the bulletproof protector according to claim 1 or 2, the bulletproof plate is arranged on the front side of the person.

Bulletproof clothes according to claim 4 includes: a cylindrical neck protector made of a bulletproof material and protecting the neck of a person; and a torso protector made of a bulletproof material, having an attachment hole for inserting the neck protector, and protecting a region under the neck of the person, in which a bulletproof plate is provided which covers the neck protector inserted in the attachment hole and the torso protector,

ADVANTAGES OF THE INVENTION

In the bulletproof protector according to claim 1, the neck protector and the under-the-neck protector are covered with the bulletproof plate, thereby enhancing the bulletproofing capability of the neck protector, the under-the-neck protector and a connection part thereof in the bulletproof protector. This makes it possible to prevent even a high speed bullet and a hard bullet from penetrating the bulletproof protector, thereby protecting the neck of a person securely against a bullet or the like.

In the bulletproof protector according to claim 2, the stand-up collar portion is unifying formed with the brim portion, thereby producing no connection part having a lower bulletproofing capability between the collar portion and the brim portion, so that the neck of a person can be securely protected against a bullet or the like.

In the bulletproof protector according to claim 3, the bulletproof plate is arranged on the front side of a person which is more likely to receive a bullet, thereby improving the bulletproofing capability against a bullet which comes flying from ahead of the person.

In the bulletproof protector according to claim 4, the neck protector and the torso protector are covered with the bulletproof plate. In the same way as the bulletproof protector according to claim 1, therefore, the neck of a person can be securely protected against a bullet which is fired at high speed or is hard.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front view of bulletproof protector according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective exploded view of a neck protector and an under-the-neck protector in the bulletproof protector of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a bulletproof plate in the bulletproof protector of FIG. 1.

FIGS. 4( a) and 4(b) are a front view and a plan view, respectively, of the neck protector and the under-the-neck protector of FIG. 2 after assembled.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view along an A-A line of FIG. 4( b)

FIG. 6 is a front view of the bulletproof protector of FIG. 1 attached to bulletproof clothes.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing an interior structure of bulletproof clothes according to a second embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a front view showing the course of a bullet when hitting an edge of a bulletproof material.

FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing the lower edge of a neck protector in contact with the interior edge of an under-the-neck protector.

FIG. 10 is a sectional view of a fibrous bent bulletproof material for protecting the neck and a region under the neck of a person.

DESCRIPTION OF THE SYMBOLS

-   1 bulletproof protector -   2 neck protector -   2A non-bulletproof area -   2B bulletproof effective area -   3 under-the-neck protector -   3 a attachment hole -   31 front protector -   32 back protector -   4 cover -   5 stopper -   5 a seams -   6 torso protector -   7 bulletproof plate -   7 a stand-up collar portion -   7 b brim portion -   10 bulletproof clothes -   K connection part -   M bullet -   P bulletproof clothes -   P1 neck portion

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING CUT THE INVENTION

Embodiments of the present invention will be below described with reference to the drawings.

First Embodiment

FIGS. 1 to 6 show bulletproof protector 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. The bulletproof protector 1 is an armor protecting the neck of a person from a bullet, a knife or the like and mainly includes a neck protector 2, an under-the-neck protector 3, a cover 4 and a bulletproof plate 7.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the neck protector 2 is a cylindrical protective member made of a bulletproof material and protecting the neck of a person. Specifically, it is formed, for example, by shaping a plurality of sheet bulletproof-material layers made of fiber (strong fiber such as aramid fiber and polyethylene fiber) having a light weight, a great strength, a high abrasion resistance and a high shock absorption into a cylinder large enough for a person to allow the head through. As shown in FIG. 4( b), the laminated sheet tapers off to both edges (both tapered portions) joined together on top of each other. In the neck protector 2, the lower edge is horizontal and the upper edge has a slope higher on the front side of a person than on the back side. As shown in FIG. 2, the tapered portions are sewn together (unified) along the slope of the upper edge.

The neck protector 2 is provided at the lower edge of the peripheral surface, as shown in FIG. 5, with a belt-shaped stopper 5 extending over the whole peripheral surface of the neck protector 2. The stopper 5 may be made of any material, as long as the under-the-neck protector 3 can be securely positioned as described later; in this embodiment, however, the surface layer thereof is made of a bulletproof material.

The stopper 5 is arranged in such a way that the lower edge thereof is on the same plane (flush) with the lower edge of the neck protector 2, and has a height H equivalent to the height from the lower edge of the neck protector 2 to the upper edge of the stopper 5. The inventor(s) found out through researches and studies that the height H should be set, taking the following respect into account. If a bullet M strikes the lower edge of the neck protector 2, the bullet M shifts its course toward the body (torso) of a person without stopping at the neck protector 2. Accordingly, in order to protect the neck (body) securely, the bullet M needs to be hindered from striking the lower edge of the neck protector 2. From this conclusion, the under-the-neck protector 3 should be a predetermined distance or above apart from the lower edge of the neck protector 2 as described later, thereby preventing the bullet M from hitting the lower edge of the neck protector 2.

For this purpose, the stopper 5 needs to have the height H above a height capable of stopping the bullet M at the neck protector 2. As shown in FIG. 5, if the area incapable of stopping the bullet M is a non-bulletproof area (lower edge) 2A, the height H has to be above the height of the non-bulletproof area 2A and is set based on the material, thickness (bulletproofing strength), rigidity or the like of the neck protector 2. Depending upon the bulletproofing strength or the like of the neck protector 2 or the under-the-neck protector 3, the height H of the stopper 5 may be set in such a way that the upper surface of the under-the-neck protector 3 lies above the height of the non-bulletproof area 2A with the under-the-neck protector 3 placed as described later.

The stopper 5 is sewn onto the neck protector 2 in one or several places; two in this embodiment. Seams 5 a thereof are formed along the whole periphery of the upper edge and lower edge of the stopper 5. Herein, a bulletproof effective area 2B is an area above the non-bulletproof area 2A of the neck protector 2 provided with the stopper 5, or an area capable of stopping the bullet M with unturned.

The under-the-neck protector 3 is, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, shaped like a sheet made of a bulletproof material, has an attachment hole 3 a for inserting the neck protector 2 and is a protective member protecting a region immediately under the neck of a person. Specifically, it is formed, for example, with a plurality of sheet bulletproof-material layers made of fiber (strong fiber such as aramid fiber and polyethylene fiber) having a light weight, a great strength, a high abrasion resistance and a high shock absorption, and has the circular attachment hole 3 a slightly larger than the outer diameter of the neck protector 2 in the center of the laminated sheet. The under-the-neck protector 3 includes a front protector 31 on the front side and a back protector 32 on the back side of a person joined together along the ridgeline of the shoulders of the person. In other words, since the junction line runs along the shoulder ridgeline, each bulletproof material (laminated sheet) of the front protector 31 and the back protector 32 can be easily bent along the junction line.

The neck protector 2 is inserted into the attachment hole 3 a, and the under-the-neck protector 3 (the edge around the attachment hole 3 a) is positioned a predetermined distance above the lower edge of the neck protector 2. In other words, the under-the-neck protector 3 is positioned above the non-bulletproof area 2A of the neck protector 2 when the stopper 5 comes into contact with the under-the-neck protector 3 while inserting the neck protector 2 into the attachment hole 3 a.

With the neck protector 2 inserted in the attachment hole 3 a of the under-the-neck protector 3, as shown in FIG. 4( a), the bulletproof plate 7 is attached to thereby cover the neck protector 2 and the under-the-neck protector 3, and a connection part K as the boundary between the neck protector 2 and the under-the-neck protector 3. The bulletproof plate 7 is employed for resisting the high speed bullet M and the hard bullet M, thereby further enhancing the bulletproofing capability of the bulletproof protector 1. The bulletproof plate 7 includes a stand-up collar portion 7 a extending in the directions around the neck of a person along the exterior surface of the neck protector 2 and a brim portion 7 b extending in the directions around the region immediately under the neck along the exterior surface of the under-the-neck protector 3. The stand-up collar portion 7 a and the brim portion 7 b are, for example, unified by a press forming. The bulletproof plate 7 is formed by giving pressure connecting or adhesive bonding to a plurality of layers each made of a bulletproof member having a bulletproofing strength great enough to resist the bullet M. This bulletproof member is, for example, made of an ultra-high strength polyethylene fiber having an excellent shock absorption, a high-strength lightweight alloy (e.g., a high-strength aluminum alloy), ceramics, every other petroleum member or the like.

As shown in FIG. 4, the bulletproof plate 7 is arranged in front of a human body G, and the upper edge of the stand-up collar portion 7 a comes exactly to the upper edge of the neck protector 2 by inserting the neck protector 2 into the attachment hole 3 a. In the same way as the neck protector 2, the stand-up collar portion 7 a is almost perpendicular, and as shown in FIG. 3, has a height H2 highest at the foremost part of the human body G. The brim portion 7 b has a uniform width W around the neck and has a slope descending toward the outside at an angle α2 to the stand-up collar portion 7 a.

In this embodiment, the height H2 of the stand-up collar portion 7 a is set to 70 mm, the angle α2 of the brim portion 7 b to the stand-up collar portion 7 a is set, for example, to 135°, and the width W of the brim portion. 7 b around the neck is set to 50-60 mm. The bulletproof plate 7 has a thickness T, for example, of approximately 10 mm in this embodiment, taking the speed and hardness of the bullet M into account. In the bulletproof plate 7, there are a dangerous zone S1 near the upper edge of the stand-up collar portion 7 a and a dangerous zone S2 around the corner of the stand-up collar portion 7 a and the brim portion 7 b. The bulletproof plate 7 has the function of securely stopping the bullet M which is fired at high speed or is hard in the dangerous zone S1 and the dangerous zone S2, though the bullet M conventionally highly probably penetrates the zones S1 and S2.

As shown in FIG. 4( b), the bulletproof plate 7 extends at both ends toward the back side of the human body G beyond the axial line passing a center O of the attachment hole 3 a, and both ends of the bulletproof plate 7 cross at an angle α1 of 180° or above around the center O. In other words, the stand-up collar portion 7 a extends a little backward from each ear G1 of the human body G. As shown in FIG. 3, the stand-up collar portion 7 a has an inside length L on the rear-end side slightly smaller than the outer diameter of the neck protector 2. Both ends of the stand-up collar portion 7 a can be pushed and widen to thereby make the inside length L larger than the diameter of the exterior surface of the neck protector 2. This capability of the stand-up collar portion 7 a to enlarge the inside length L enables the bulletproof plate 7 to fix to the neck protector 2 because of the self elasticity after the neck protector 2 is inserted into the attachment hole 3 a of the under-the-neck protector 3. The stand-up collar portion 7 a of the thus attached bulletproof plate 7 can adhere closely to the neck protector 2 because of the self elasticity, and the brim portion 7 b having the slope descending toward the outside can also adhere closely to the under-the-neck protector 3.

The cover 4 covers the thus assembled neck protector 2, under-the-neck protector 3 and bulletproof plate 7 along the inside and outside shapes thereof. The cover 4 is joined and fixed at several places to the neck protector 2 and the under-the-neck protector 3. Particularly, in a penetrating portion 2 a and a penetrated portion 3 b (see FIG. 4( a)) near the part where the neck protector 2 penetrates the under-the-neck protector 3, the cover 4 is fixed to thereby prevent the under-the-neck protector 3 from shifting (moving) upward.

The outer diameter of the neck protector 2 is set, as shown in FIG. 6, in such a way that the neck protector 2 provided with the cover 4 can be insert into a neck portion (neck insertion hole) P1 of existing bulletproof clothes P. This allows the neck protector 2 to pass through the neck portion P1, and in this state, the bulletproof plate 7 to fix on the exterior surface of the neck protector 2 by utilizing the elasticity of the stand-up collar portion 7 a, thereby attaching the bulletproof protector 1 to the bulletproof clothes P. Besides, the neck protector 2 can be pulled out of the neck portion P1 after the bulletproof plate 7 is removed from the neck protector 2, thereby detaching the bulletproof protector 1 from the bulletproof clothes P. In short, the bulletproof protector 1 is attachable and detachable for the existing bulletproof clothes P.

A person can put on the thus configured bulletproof protector 1 and existing bulletproof clothes P by first inserting the head into the neck protector 2 to put on (attaching) the bulletproof protector 1, and then putting on the existing bulletproof clothes P on top thereof. Herein, the existing bulletproof clothes P may be the one which the person pulls over the head like a poncho or the one which the person can open in the front.

As described so far, in the bulletproof protector 1, the non-bulletproof area 2A of the neck protector 2 is covered with the under-the-neck protector 3, thereby preventing the bullet M from hitting the non-bulletproof area 2A of the neck protector 2. Therefore, the bullet M strikes only the bulletproof effective area 2B of the neck protector 2, and when hitting on the neck protector 2, the bullet M can be slowed, braked and stopped. In addition, the connection part K as the boundary between the neck protector 2 and the under-the-neck protector 3 is covered with the bulletproof plate 7 having a high bulletproofing capability. Accordingly, as shown in FIG. 5, the bullet M coming to the connection part K strikes the bulletproof plate 7, thereby allowing the bulletproof plate 7 to securely stop the bullet M which is fired at high speed or is hard.

In the bulletproof plate 7, the stand-up collar portion 7 a is unifying formed with the brim portion 7 b, thereby producing no connection part having a lower bulletproofing capability between the collar portion 7 a and the brim portion 7 b, so that the neck of a person can be securely protected against the bullet M or the like. Besides, since the front side of the human body G is more likely to receive the bullet M than the back side thereof, the bulletproof plate 7 is attached to the front side, thereby improving the bulletproofing capability of the bulletproof protector 1.

The under-the-neck protector 3 includes the front protector 31 and the back protector 32 joined together along the ridgeline of the shoulders of a person. Therefore, even if the under-the-neck protector 3 is made of a rigid bulletproof material, as shown in FIG. 4( a), the front protector 31 and the back protector 32 are bent toward the body of a person (toward gravity) and attached closely to a region immediately under the neck, thereby making it possible to protect the region immediately under the neck appropriately. Herein, the stand-up collar portion 7 a of the bulletproof plate 7 inclines downward to thereby adhere almost closely to the exterior surface of the inclined front protector 31, so that it can securely stop the bullet M coming from the front side of the human body G. In addition, the bulletproof protector 1 can be freely attached to and detached from the existing bulletproof clothes P. Therefore, if the bulletproof protector 1 is attached to the existing bulletproof clothes P (if a person wears the bulletproof protector 1 and the bulletproof clothes P), the person can protect the neck securely from the bullet M or the like even in the existing bulletproof clothes.

Second Embodiment

FIG. 7 is a front view showing an interior structure of bulletproof clothes 10, or a state without a cover thereof according to a second embodiment of the present invention. Herein, component elements are given the same reference characters and numerals as those of the first embodiment, as long as the former are identical to the latter. Thus, their description is omitted,

The bulletproof clothes 10 includes: a neck protector 2; and a torso protector 6 as a protective member made of a bulletproof material, having an attachment hole 6 a for inserting the neck protector 2 and protecting a region under the neck of a person. The bulletproof clothes 10 extend up to under the abdomen, different from the under-the-neck protector 3. In the same way as the first embodiment, the bulletproof plate 7 is attached to the exterior surface of the neck protector 2 inserted in the attachment hole 6 a. In this state, the edge around the attachment hole 6 a of the torso protector 6 is located a predetermined distance above the lower edge of the neck protector 2, in other words, above the non-bulletproof area 2A. The torso protector 6 may be formed by a single member in a body, or a plurality of members.

If a person wears the thus configured bulletproof protector 10, the person can protect the neck securely from the bullet M or the like which is fired at high speed or is hard in the same way as the first embodiment, and protect even a region under the neck as well.

The embodiments of the present invention have been described so far, however, a specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments. Hence, the present invention includes numerous variations in design and the like without departing from the scope of the present invention. For example, in each embodiment, the under-the-neck protector 3 or the torso protector 6 is arranged above the non-bulletproof area 2A of the neck protector 2 using the stopper 5, however, it maybe done by any other means. In addition, the bulletproof plate 7 is attached to the neck protector 2 using the self elasticity, however, it may be removable using a surface zipper or the like. Besides, if there is no need to detach the bulletproof plate 7, the bulletproof plate 7 may be fixed to the neck protector 2 using an adhesive.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As described so far, the bulletproof protector and the bulletproof clothes according to the present invention is extremely useful for protecting the neck of a person securely from a bullet or the like, 

1. Bulletproof protector, comprising: a cylindrical neck protector made of a bulletproof material and protecting the neck of a person; and a sheet under-the-neck protector made of a bulletproof material, having an attachment hole for inserting the neck protector, and protecting a region immediately under the neck of the person, wherein a bulletproof plate is provided which covers the neck protector inserted in the attachment hole and the under-the-neck protector.
 2. The bulletproof protector according to claim 1, wherein the bulletproof plate includes a stand-up collar portion extending in the directions around the neck of the person along an exterior surface of the neck protector and a brim portion extending in the directions around the region immediately under the neck of the person along an exterior surface of the under-the-neck protector, and the stand-up collar portion is unifying formed with the brim portion.
 3. The bulletproof protector according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the bulletproof plate is arranged on the front side of the person.
 4. Bulletproof clothes, comprising: a cylindrical neck protector made of a bulletproof material and protecting the neck of a person; and a torso protector made of a bulletproof material, having an attachment hole for inserting the neck protector, and protecting a region under the neck of the person, wherein a bulletproof plate is provided which covers the neck protector inserted in the attachment hole and the torso protector. 